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Character of the Season
Once known as the Butcher of Whitebrim, he's now The Butcher of Dygra, stepping forward as the first created demigod of the Ancients. There is no question that Astaroth casts an intimidating silhouette. Tall, domineering and dangerous, if looks could kill you'd be dead already, but to get up close and personal with the Grounds' resident cannibal tells a much different story. Dripping with charm and clad in only the finest attire, Asta is a gentleman monster, as polite as they come and committed to his role as security for the Dusklight and those who have earned his loyalty. Be careful of that smile, though - those teeth are sharp.
Congratulations, Asta!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
Golden hair stretches out in damp arms around her like a half-smothered seastar cushioning her head. Flat on her back, Fern lies diagonally across the rainbow road, making a very inconvenient obstacle and very squishy speed bump for anyone not paying attention to the need to detour. For now, she is blessedly alone, or as alone as a girl can be when her father is acting as sentinel somewhere nearby via a four-legged shadow—she'd wandered from his side some time ago, drawn by one curious thing or another, but she's under no impression she's truly lost him, nor had she meant to. They have spent plenty of afternoons just like this.
Her current focus, and the reason for her roadway hindrance, is watching the rainbows leap into the spray of the geysers around her. The angle of the sun makes this particular viewing spot the best for the full brunt of color and the stretch of the elusive, colorful smiles that shimmer among the mist. "There they are!" she announces excitedly to herself, a hand pointing up and tracing the arc, another hand lifted up to shield her eyes from the Torchline sun. The spray drifts down, freckling her in diamond droplets that bead together and darken the fabric of her clothing.
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
The new hat flops forward to push damp hair into her eyes, the felt rubbing an echoing sound against the tines of her horns. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, the wide brim blocking out some of the sunlight that seems infinitely brighter in Torchline than the Grounds; however, when it causes her to miss half of the interesting sights, Knell has to debate the wisdom of her choice. Especially when the sights are those of exploding geysers.
She purses her lips for the tenth time, pushing the hat up just in time to notice the inconsistency in the rainbow stones beneath her feet, jolting to a stop so fast that she nearly falls backwards - then succeeds. A flick of her tail tries to save her balance, but the surprise shout tips the scales, a small splash and a grunt accompanying her gravity-assisted recline. Pushing her hat back up for the eleventh time, wide blue eyes are suddenly more captivated by the prone shape than that of the surroundings.
"Oh, hi," she says simple, head tilting to scan the girl, pointedly ignoring the ache forming on the base of her tail. The girl appears around her age, a single hand pointing straight into the sky at something Knell hadn't spotted - something she's determined to find out now. "There what are?" She follows the finger's trajectory up, one hand forcing her hat to behave while she investigates.
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
The sound of approaching feet is much easier to hear when gysers aren't hissing and spitting one after another, and when the wearer is clopping along on higher heels or boots like so many like to; even flip flops have a distinct clap of arrival. It's only when she's nearly been stepped on that Fern becomes aware of this individual though, the hand sheltering her from the sun drawing in closer as Fern's head swivels towards the commotion. She winces at the fall, sucking air in past her teeth and cheek, imagining exactly the feeling of that, even if watching it happen sideways is new.
"You okay?!" she calls over, rotating around and onto her stomach, hands braced on the colorful stones with a splay that suggests readiness for weight, happy to spring up and assist if needed. Knell recovers quickly though, seeming none worse for the wear, and Fern smiles easier at that. "Hello," she greets in return, pleased to find meet another Torchline kid.
"Oh!" Fern gasps, immediately grabbing hold of Knell's interest and unfurling it alongside her own. She flips back over, splaying out on the moist stones and wriggling back into position. "The rainbows! You can see them super well if you lie like this and look riiiiiiiight there, and angle your chin like this." The result leaves Fern looking paralyzed like those dinosaur bones that always get unearthed with their bodies bent nearly in half.
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
The ache is already fading, her focus falling on the girl sprawled across the ground like some contortionist playing at fallen corpse. Knell tilts her head, adjusting each limb to match the demonstration, pushing them into awkward positions that strain tendons and muscles. It's a prolonged sort of discomfort that she grunts stubbornly against until she lays like a duplicate manakin, staring up at the sky. "Like this?"
Her hat falls back, water seeping quickly into the thin layers of her jacket and cream dress. It's colder than she'd thought it'd be in the bright sunlight, but she ignores it, eyes fixed on the spray of water that suddenly mists over them. The air glitters like a thousand gems falling towards them. Colors fade into existence, arcing across her vision in with a vibrancy that makes her gasp. "Oh! I see! That's so cool!"
Grinning, she turns her head to the girl, red tendrils reaching over the stones between them. "How'd you find this?" And what other fascinating things did she know?
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
A little giggle bubbles up as she watches Knell get into position, quite certain hers had been more elegant, although she only thinks so because she didn't witness it, Ever might have a different claim. "That's perfect!" she praises with a bright beam of her lips and a tilt of her head, eyes scrunching up to properly judge every angle.
The next gyser blast comes and Fern gasps with the eager anticipation of showing off her finding, but Knell catches it in the same breath. "Yeah, there it is again!" Misted hues sparkle like suspended glitter above them, each tiny droplet catching and bending the sunlight for them, the effortless magic of life that's active all around them.
"Oh," Fern starts, explaining it like it's very easy and sensible. "I saw a grasshopper and got reeeal close on the ground to talk with him. He was cleaning his eyeballs." Fern blinks, just now wondering if she should be doing the same once in a while. "I'm Fern, by the way."
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
Not wanting to miss a second of the fading colors, her eyes return to the glittering water above while her head angles towards the blonde girl, thoughts mulling over the information she's given like... cleaning eyeballs? But more curiously, Knell quirks an eyebrow and repeats, "Talk with him?" What kind of conversation did she expect to have with an insect?
The mist sprinkles into a damp haze that settles on the ground (and their clothes), taking the rainbow with it. Pushing a damp strand from her face, she turns to give Fern a toothy smile, her fangs making an innocent appearance. "I'm Knell." Hand still propped on her too big hat, she tilts her head beneath. "Are you from here?"
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
"Yeah!" she agrees easily, only then seeming to realize the question buried in the question. "It's because I'm an attuned, so I can talk to them." A pause, voice growing a little smaller as her fingers flex on the ground beside her, water puddling between the color stones of the walkway. The Torchline sun that bakes down on the ground, less as it might be at the moment, combined with the heat of the gysers, makes the puddle her finger taps a lukewarm, humid place to put her nerves. "Or well, I'm trying to. I don't think I can do it until I get stronger, or older, but I was hoping if I started small I might be able to hear them talk back already." To no avail. The grasshopper had only chirped its legs and bounded off, lost in the foliage off the pathway. "I asked him for his name but when he didn't tell me I decided to call him acorn because he had the color of an acorn and maybe that offended him and that's why he hopped away." Not just because grasshoppers hop.
Lamenting the fact she might have offended him is what had left Fern on the ground, and soon enough the rainbows had distracted her from the bug-sized woes. "Yeah! I am a doctor here." She tilts her head to see Knell better, brows lifting. "Are you new to the area and in need of your primal physician?"
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
Knell smiles wide at the revelation. "Oh! Does that mean you have shifts too?" Maybe they could compare shapes or explore together! Just the idea makes her tail sway, eyes brighter with the gleam of adventure.
The only people she's been shifted with are Ancients, and since they don't have the Attuned bond, Knell doesn't know the specifics of the ability. Whether it's age or size or affinity, she hasn't the faintest idea. Maybe that's another thing she'll read about when she gets home. For now, she works under the assumption that the grasshopper must not have liked whatever Fern had said, imagining why he might have hopped away. "Or maybe he thought you like eating acorns?" Not just because grasshoppers hop.
Between geyser spirts, Knell scrambles onto her elbow to look directly at Fern, moving so fast that the skin scrapes the stones. "Wow! A doctor?! You must know so much!" She looks a little older, so she must have a lot more experience to have become a doctor. Knell has a hard time imagining all the books she must have read. Maybe she's read all of them!
The following question carves at the distance between her brows, unsure what a 'primal physician' is or why she might need one. "But I'm not sick," she says, head tilting so that her already damp hair drips into the water.
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
Fern pulls herself up into a sit, damp clothing sticking for a minute, the outline where she had been a touch lighter on the stones behind her. "Yeah! I can turn into an Osprey." Familiar with Ancients given her mother, Fern's head tilts as se looks at Knell. "What about you?" Most of her friends so far haven't been able to shift, and while she enjoys running about with her animal-parents, especially when her dad plays fetch, she would like to meet someone younger who can do it.
Her features scrunch up a smidge at the idea she might like eating acorns, the idea only serving if the grasshopper then thought she might eat him. She shrugs, "maaaaybe. I don't think I ever have eaten an acorn though." She glances towards the shrubs, as if expecting maybe the grasshopper could hear this.
Given the appropriate praise for her position, Fern's head tilts up, smiling proudly. "I do!" she confirms with no unkindness to it, just the plain truth of being Caido's youngest and grandest surgeon. "Oh," she considers, as Knell seems not to be in need, and head head tilts the other way, pale hair shifting with the motion. "Well, I thought everyone had a primal doctor, just in case you do get sick or hurt, but I don't handle any of the front office stuff." She waves the complication of it away immediately. "I'd still help you if you needed it though!"
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
She's prepared to be excited for the shift, to bask in the potential adventures, but Knell pauses, polite confusion dampening the moment. "What's an 'Osprey'?" It sounds cool, like a noble, majestic creature she's never heard of. There's probably a book somewhere in the Temple that mentions whatever this rare animal is, but considering she's only been alive for a season, she hasn't been able to read all of them yet. A fault on her end.
Knell perks up again at the question directed her way, tail flying proud. "I'm an Ember Fox! Do you wanna see?" Her eyes brighten, her mind bracing against the shape in her mind, ready to reach for it should Fern want to see.
The doubt in her grasshopper theory just serves to motivate another. Her lips purse in thought, a hum rising while the idea forms. "Mm. Maybe we can ask him together. Where'd he go?" She looks around, half expecting a grasshopper to peek over the rim of her hat or jump from within the puddles surrounding them.
On the topic of prodigy doctors, Knell leans forward, completely convinced that Fern must be the smartest person she's ever met. Who else would think to have a doctor 'just in case'? Genius.
Her eyes widen, wrapping around the new information that she's learned. "Oh," she muses. It would be nice to have such a capable person to help her whenever she needs. "Does that mean you'd come to the Grounds if I got hurt?"
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
The lack of recognition blooms a soft little giggle from Fern, the coast here having enough to consider them common, so the idea that someone might not know one is silly. "I'll show you," she reassures brightly, and shortly thereafter is firmly nodding at Knell's offer to do similar. "Oooh, yes, I'd love to see that," she claps delightedly.
Giving a shrug at acorn the grasshopper, Fern nonetheless laments the loss. "Dunno, he left a bit ago and he's so small." a grasshopper in the brush serving as needle in hay. "Somewhere in there, but he can come out if he wants." He hadn't been the best conversation anyway, certainly not like Knell.
The idea of traveling makes Fern pause with a moment of consideration. "I've never done a house call before," she admits, voice thick with thought. "I don't see why not though. Assuming mother and father will let me." The downside to being a child doctor.
Too eager to wait any longer though, Fern ditches the work chatter for the more fun aspects. "Okay, let's shift!" Which sounds like a very heroic catchphrase that could be used. Grinning, Fern crouches down on both feet, knees tucked, and arms curling in on her sides. It's a physical shaping of her one body to help it meld into the next, and in the next blink, she's been replace with the large sea raptor, feathers all fluffing up as she shakes her head and rolls them, wings flicking.
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
With the promise of seeing each other's shifts, Knell shares in the bright smile, giggling along with Fern. "Great!" Although eager to embrace the shift right now, she drifts away from that part of her mind, patiently waiting for the right moment.
The grass gives no clues as to where the grasshopper might be, and she doesn't spot any movement that hints at his presence. A disappointment for sure, but one she's not overly upset about. Subconsciously copying the other girl, Knell shrugs her shoulders awkwardly from her place on the ground, eyes sliding from the place the grasshopper might have been. "Maybe I'll meet him next time."
Tilting her head, she blinks. "But I live in a Temple," Knell says, uncertain whether that would change Fern's mind. Not that she has to worry about it when the decision falls in her favor.
The smile that spreads across her face is warm and decisive with an easiness that comes from simplicity and naivety. She doesn't need to worry of the logistics of the choice or the complications of having such a young doctor. Faith shines amidst the confidence of a well-made decision. "Then it's settled, you'll be my primal doctor." The nod of her head knocks the hat from her horns, red hair spilling just as Fern stands from her place on the stones.
Knell follows, scrambling from the damp ground to help her feet catch up with the excitement. "Yeah!" she shouts, just as she stumbles upright, hat in hand and damp clothes sitting haphazardly across her body. With the rush of someone having been poised to act, she plunges her thoughts into the wall of her shift, orange fur blossoming across her skin in a flicker of living flame.
She barely manages a bounce to catch the force of shifting balance, black-tipped ears and lupine head tilting to take in the crouch that preceeds Fern's shift. Bright blue eyes blink when the blonde girl begins to change, registering the shift with a wag of her tail. Oh! She has wings! Knell observes, padding closer to inspect the large expanse of feathers. I wonder what it's like to fly. The thoughts float down the bond, unaware that they might be received beyond the confines of her head.
Warm breeze blowing summer smell Those Friday nights and stars up in the sky Made me feel so damn alive
Large eyes blink back, the nictitating membrane rolling across before sweeping back, eyes momentarily paling beneath the built-in flight goggles. I wonder that too, Fern answers back to the voice that appears beside her thoughts, practiced in the art of the bond after doing so with her father, although there is a surprised ruffle that lifts up every one of her feathers.
How can you do that? She wonders, beak parting as a low, suspicious screech drags itself out of her chest towards the flaming fox, her tongue lifting in the mild upset of such confusion. My mother is an ancient and she can't!
The horns and tail had of course given Knell away, especially once her hat had gone tumbling free, and the ember fox that stands before her now is maybe proof that she's more, although such a detail is currently lost to her beneath the rising chaos of her understanding shifting. Her head bobs, the energy of it all needing an exit.
Didn't know that I had found the good times We were happy as can be Now it's just a memory that's faded
The response to her thoughts doesn't register at first, as if she's confirming her own mild curiosities about what it's like to fly. She shifts her nose closer to the wings, sniffing and inspecting the feathers just as they double in size before her very eyes. Originally intrigued by the reaction, Knell isn't prepared for the screech that splits her ears.
She jumps nearly a foot in the air, scurrying away in a flash of flickering movement the moment her paws splash back onto solid stone. Her heart pounds against her chest, panic and fear coating the scent of her crouched form. With ears pinned flat to her head and tail tucked against her soft underbelly, Knell sucks down breaths, uncertain why she's being interrogated.
I don't know! she yells back. Having yet to make the distinctions of her being, Knell shakes her head, blue eyes full of a confusion that can't be faked. My mom's an Ancient too, and we couldn't talk when we were hunting. She certainly would have noticed if her mom's voice had suddenly started echoing in her head. Her mom had even warned her before shifting that they'd have to be smart about how they communicated.
Knell rubs a paw over her ear, grimacing when it does nothing to change the flow of conversation. It sounds so... weird, she comments, almost like her own thoughts have picked this moment to impersonate the voices of those around her, whispering them into the deepest recesses of her ears.
